Information for Families

Your Child and the Volunteer Befriender

Your child will only be referred to the Project with your agreement. You will be asked to complete a consent / registration form which will be submitted with the referral form. The project co-ordinator will introduce the Befriender to you and your child and at this meeting the Befriender will make arrangements to take your child out for the first time. The outings should happen on a fortnightly basis for 2-3 hours each time and will run over the course of a minimum of 1 year. The Befriender will take the opportunity to introduce your child to new activities. The Befriender will not be spending large sums of money on the child, but will be spending quality 1:1 time with them.

You and the Volunteer

Please remember the Befriender is there to support your child and not other family members. Whilst we appreciate you may want to get to know the befriender better, socialising between the befriender and the parent/guardian is not encouraged.

The Befriender’s Responsibilities Include:

Seeing your child on a regular basis, every fortnight for approximately 2-3 hours each time or as agreed

Keeping the Co-Ordinator informed of the number of times they have seen the child and the type of activity undertaken.

Making sure the child is safe.

All Befrienders will respect confidentiality, but there may be an occasion when the Befriender may have to pass on information to the Project Co-ordinator who in turn will inform their Line Manager.

Your Responsibilities Include:

Being there when the Befriender collects and returns the child.

Being flexible with times / days for the outings. Our Befrienders are volunteers, they do not get paid to take your child out and do so because they want to.

Remembering that the Befriender is there for the young person not for other family members.

Withdrawal of Befriending should not be used as a punishment. It takes time to develop a relationship with your child and if meetings are cancelled it takes longer to establish the relationship and therefore limiting the possible benefits.

Please do not ask the Befriender to baby-sit or do favours. This is not permitted.

Please do not ask the Befriender for money or to buy things for you or your child. Again, this is not permitted at any time.